Years ago in England, in the days when nobility and royalty rode in horse-drawn carriages, when men wore long-tailed waistcoats and women wore graceful dresses and embellished bonnets…

…there lived a young man, a prince, a very kind and benevolent gentleman. He longed to find the right girl to be his bride.

One day, the prince decided to visit the nearby village. As he strolled through its streets, he noticed a beautiful girl his age. Watching her, he saw her friends guiding her and realized she was blind.

He asked one of his servants with him to inquire about the girl. The servant did so and returned to explain she was a peasant girl from a poor family. When very young, she had an accident, which left her blind.

Over the next few weeks, the young prince could not get the beautiful girl out of his mind. He went to the village often just to get a glimpse of her. Through his servant, he asked permission to be introduced to her.

Though feeling unworthy, the girl agreed. After the introductions and following protocol, the prince bowed. She curtsied. He asked if she would like to take a walk with him. She agreed.

After their walk, she asked her friends what he looked like. They said the prince was a tall, handsome, young man with piercing eyes and a wonderful smile. She became captivated by him.

For months, the prince courted the peasant girl and, deciding he could not live without her, he asked her to marry him. She did not think she was worthy of his affection but he convinced her that he loved her whether she was blind or had sight. She accepted his proposal.

Several weeks before the wedding, she had a routine doctor’s appointment. The doctor told her of a new surgery being done with great success. She told him she had no money to pay for it and left very disappointed. She kept this a secret from everyone.

The doctor, knowing the prince would gladly pay for the surgery, told him about it and the prince agreed to pay. He, too, kept it a secret.

As she prepared for her wedding day with great excitement, her heart ached with a longing to see her bridegroom. One day, the doctor called on the young girl and told her someone anonymously paid for her surgery, but there was one drawback. The doctor would not be able to remove the bandages until right before the ceremony as time was short.

Though she wanted to have the bandages removed sooner, she agreed to the procedure. Hope of seeing her bridegroom for the first time on their wedding day, to look into his loving eyes, filled her heart.

On the day of the wedding, those of nobility and royalty from the prince’s family and those of his friends, along with those of the bride’s family and her friends, gathered in anticipation.

The prince stood at the front of the church, waiting, beaming with an expectant, crooked smile, anxious to see his forever bride. First standing on one foot and then on the other, yet the epitome of royalty in his wedding finery.

He was ready to whisk his beloved away to their future home. Anxiety increased as he awaited the lovely figure in white to take her place beside him.

As the young bride stood in the vestibule with her father, she wondered if the doctor would arrive to take off the bandages. Just then, he rushed in the door and removed them.

As she started down the aisle, a ray of sunshine filtered through a stained glass window and fell across her face.

“Father, I can see! I can see! I once was blind but now I see!” she shouted, as all the attendees stood to applaud her.

With a heart bursting with joy, the young girl walked down the aisle to greet her beloved prince.

Tears streamed down her face as her eyes focused on her true love for the first time. Seeing the look on his face, she knew, beyond a doubt, she was loved and cherished, that nothing she had done in the past mattered to her loving prince.

***

Oh, dear ones, do you see it? Do you see you are the peasant girl and the Lord is your Prince? Do you not, at times, feel unworthy of the Lord’s love and forgiveness? Does He not anxiously wait to take you home with Him and, yet, patiently wait for you to come to Him? Do you not have a heart full of love for your Prince, your Lord?